Saint Leo University is a private, non-profit, Catholic university
located in Saint Leo,
Florida, next to San Antonio, Florida, which is north
of Tampa. Dr. Arthur F. Kirk, Jr. has been the president of the
university since January 1997. It is associated with the Holy Name Monastery
(Benedictine sisters; formerly known as
Holy Name Priory), and Saint Leo
Abbey (Benedictine monks).A Roman-Catholic University, founded by the Benedictine Order in 1883 (1889 received its Charter by the State of Florida). The University was opened by the order of Pope
Leo, to ensure that students in Florida and the southeast could obtain a traditional European/Roman Catholic education.From 1890 to 1920, the college's curriculum was
geared towards the acquisition of a Master of Accounts degree. In 1921, the focus of the
college shifted to that of a college preparatory institution. the name changinging to Saint Leo College Preparatory School in
1929. Some of its more famous students included actor Lee Marvin and Nicaraguan president Anastasio Somoza Debayle.In 1959, Saint Leo College was reopened, offering associates degrees in various fields
with four-year bachelor's degree programs soon added. The first bachelor's degrees were awarded in 1967. In 1973, small campuses were added to U.S. military bases across the
country. The main campus continued to offer a small liberal arts college atmosphere. By 1999, when its name was officially changed to Saint Leo University, it had become, according to its Web site, "the
sixth largest provider of higher education to military-related personnel in the United States."The university, which is one of the nation's largest and oldest Catholic institutions of higher learning offers Associate,
Bachelor and Masters degrees in the Liberal Arts, Natural Sciences, Classics, as well as Pre-Professional (Medicine and Law).